One of the monsters felt that what was said was right.
However, the leader of the monsters furrowed his brow and asked, "What if Sun Wukong comes knocking on our door?"
"If that monkey really does come looking for us, we brothers are not afraid of him. We’ll have a fight with him and take the opportunity to capture him too, to enjoy with our drink," the second monster said with a cold laugh.
After thinking, the third monster nodded and said, "Brother’s words do make sense. If we can’t beat Sun Wukong, we can hand over Xuanzang. If we eat Xuanzang’s flesh and then get killed by that monkey, how could we achieve eternal life!"
The leading monster thought for a while, then nodded and said, "What the two of you said makes sense. Since that’s the case, let’s keep him for now, and in a few days, we’ll pick an auspicious date to eat Xuanzang’s flesh. There’s no rush."
Xuanzang, listening to their conversation, was frustrated, but at least he wasn’t going to die at their hands for the time being.
Meanwhile, after Xuanzang was kidnapped, Sun Wukong blamed Zhu Bajie and Sand Monk for not protecting their master properly.
Nine Spirits Holy Yuan hastily said, "Great Saint, blaming them now is of no use. It’s the master’s fate to encounter this disaster. The deed is done, let’s focus on rescuing your master instead!"
Zhu Bajie quickly said, "Old Lion is right, we should make haste and think of a way to save our master. If it’s too late, Master might end up turning into monster droppings."
"How could Master possibly turn into monster droppings? You blockhead always talk nonsense," scolded Sun Wukong, not amused.
"If he’s eaten by the monster, wouldn’t he just turn into droppings? By that time, you can call out to those droppings as ’Master’, but I reckon Master won’t respond. And if we were to bring a lump of droppings to Mount Meru to meet Buddha Ancestor, I’m not sure he would give us the scriptures!"
Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but grumble.
Sun Wukong, annoyed, grabbed Zhu Bajie’s ears and scolded, "You blockhead, if you talk nonsense again, I, Old Sun, will tear your damn mouth apart."
As he spoke, Sun Wukong pushed Zhu Bajie aside, turned to the Nine Spirits Holy Yuan, and said, "You haven’t been down from the heavens for long; you must know something about the origin of these monsters!"
"I do know a thing or two," Nine Spirits Holy Yuan replied, frowning.
Hearing Nine Spirits Holy Yuan’s words, both Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but look pleased.
Sun Wukong said, "In that case, there’s no time to lose; let’s hurry and rescue my master!"
Sun Wukong nodded and said, "The monster fled towards the northeast; its cave is also in that direction. Let’s chase after it, and at all costs, we must rescue Master."
The four of them then soared into the sky, heading northeast. They didn’t dare to fly too fast, afraid of losing track of the monster, until the east started to brighten and a large mountain appeared ahead.
Frowning, Sun Wukong said, "This mountain is very steep; it’s likely that monsters are entrenched here. Let’s go down and see what’s going on."
Thus, the four descended on a cloud to the top of the mountain, and Sun Wukong surveyed the area. Suddenly, he saw on the slope beside them four men driving three sheep down from the hillside, shouting as they went: "Kaitai!"
Sun Wukong looked closely and couldn’t help but snort coldly, turning to glance at Nine Spirits Holy Yuan.
Seeing Nine Spirits Holy Yuan’s eyes slightly squinted, the four flew over and landed in front of the men.
Sun Wukong, already with anger in his belly and nowhere to vent, immediately drew out his Jingu Bang and shouted, "You hidden and cowering rats, where are you going? Come here and get your beating."
It turned out these four men were not monsters but the Four Constables of Year, Month, Day, and Hour. Seeing Sun Wukong enraged, they no longer cared about the sheep and hurriedly went forward to salute him, saying, "Great Saint, please calm your anger and forgive us."
Sun Wukong snorted coldly and said, "You Four Constables, what are you doing here?"
"Could it be that you’ve come to mock us, seeing that our master was captured by the monster?"
"I see each of you deserves a beat. Start with fifty strikes each to relieve Old Sun’s boredom."
Terrified, the Sizhi Gongcao instantly begged for mercy, "Great Saint, calm your anger! Your stick is heavy, and we Minor Deities could not endure fifty strikes; surely, one hit would be enough to kill us. Please have mercy, Great Saint. We surely did not dare to slack off!"
Sun Wukong angrily said, "Our master was captured by the monster, yet you have the leisure to come here and herd sheep?"
The Sizhi Gongcao quickly replied, "Great Saint, forgive us, it’s only because your master relaxed his vigilant spirit at Ci Yun Temple in Jinpingfu, indulging in pleasure, and this extreme joy led to sorrow, bringing about this catastrophe."
"Although he’s been taken by the monster, he’s protected by Guardian Jialan, so he should be safe."
"We came to inform you since we knew the Great Saint was chasing through the night, fearing the Great Saint might not know the terrain, we came to bring news."
Sun Wukong angrily said, "Since you came to bring news, why hide and disguise yourself as ordinary people, and why herd these three sheep? We’re all monks and don’t eat mutton."
The Sizhi Gongcao hurriedly explained, "Great Saint may not know, these three sheep are set to align with the saying ’Kaitai’, called ’Three Yang Kaitai’, to break through the misfortune of your master."
Sun Wukong, already full of resentment and intending to punish these four, held back his anger and put away his Jingu Bang upon hearing their words, asking coldly, "Is this the place of the monster?"
The Sizhi Gongcao, relieved that Sun Wukong finally put away the Jingu Bang, collectively sighed and quickly answered when they finally heard the main question, "Yes, indeed! This place is called Qinglong Mountain, and atop it lies Xuanyin Cave, the dwelling of those three monsters."